Facebook Creates Dual-Class Stock Structure — Facebook Inc. has established a dual class stock structure, a move that helps lay the groundwork for an eventual initial public offering. — The company is in the process of converting all current shareholders to Class B stock …

Core i7 iMacs showing up DOA — including ours — Apple's new Core i7-based iMac might be a performance monster, but it looks like the whole family's having some problems getting out of the gate: in addition to the previously-noted performance issues with the Core 2 Duo models …

Microsoft CFO Liddell Leaving; Replaced By Peter Klein — Microsoft (MSFT) this afternoon announced that CFO Chris Liddell is leaving the company at the end of 2009, and will be replaced by Peter Klein, who is now CFO of the Microsoft Business Division. — Liddell joined the company in May 2005 …

New search ad formats — At Google, we're committed to giving you the information you want — regardless of the form in which it might appear. — Text is often useful, but sometimes videos and pictures are a more effective way to receive information. For example, if you want to learn a magic trick …

Millions using social media on Xbox Live — Microsoft on Monday said that millions of Xbox Live members have used the new social-media features that the company pushed live a week ago. — In June, Microsoft announced it would begin offering Xbox Live users access to Facebook, Twitter, and Last.fm.

Yahoo's Search Box Gets Smarter — Yahoo has announced a new set of features for its Search Assist service that makes the Yahoo search box a lot smarter. — Perhaps the main innovation here is the inclusion of content and information right inside the Search Assist dropdown.

Sony VAIO X gets OS X Snow Leopard — There's a lot to like about Sony's VAIO X ultraportable - its indecently-skinny build, the engineering intelligence that went into its design, and its lengthy battery life just to name a few things - but if you're less than inspired by Windows 7 then how about a Mac OS X version?

Joost Finally Acquired, By Online Ad Network Adconion — So Joost's been put out of its misery and its assets have been acquired by Santa Monica, CA-based online ad network Adconion Media Group. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but likely would have been pennies on the dollar …

Apple iPhone Ad Succeeds Where AT&T Fails — Apple's jumping into the battle that sees Verizon Wireless and AT&T flaming each other in advertisements, but unlike AT&T's recent effort to defend itself, Apple's new pair of iPhone ads are actually good. — To recap, Verizon fired the first volley …

Siri raises $15.5M more for virtual personal assistant — For those of you awaiting the next generation of personal assistants, San Jose startup Siri, who's product aims to be a virtual personal assistant (VPA), has just raised $15.5 million in round two funding from Menlo Ventures and Morgenthaler Ventures says VentureWire.

Negative Cashback from Bing Cashback — In a recent post that Microsoft made me take down, I wrote about some security holes in Bing Cashback. While technical flaws are somewhat interesting to me, most Bountii users don't really care about them. Starting today, I'll write about some non-technical flaws in Bing Cashback.

Major Intel chip upgrade coming to new Netbooks — Intel is set to announce the biggest makeover for its Atom processor since it was introduced back in the spring of 2008. And PC makers are ready with new Netbook models, some due before the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The mobile data apocalypse, and what it means to you — The mobile industry is now completing a huge shift in its attitude toward mobile data. Until pretty recently, the prevailing attitude among mobile operators was that data was a disappointment. It had been hyped for a decade …

E-tailers snagged in marketing ‘scam’ blame customers — First the good news for consumers: the U.S. government's investigation into how dozens of well-known online stores worked with controversial marketers to “deceive” customers out of $1.4 billion has prompted some retailers …

Best Buy adds $197 HP laptop to Black Friday lineup — Best Buy on Tuesday announced that it will bolster its Black Friday deals with a $197 HP laptop. — Available in-store beginning Friday, Nov. 27, the HP laptop features an Intel Celeron 900 processor, 2GB memory and a 160GB hard drive.

U.S. pumps another $620M into smart grid projects — Lithium ion batteries face tests in utility-scale storage — SAN JOSE, Calif. — The U.S. government has announced a second and final round of economic stimulus grants aimed at accelerating the transition to a smart electric grid.